Author Unknown

Being an effective leader is not for the faint of heart.  It is a role with great responsibility and getting feedback on your performance is critical to growing as an individual and leading your team to a higher level of performance.  Some of the most worked on leadership skills include the following:

• Treating others with respect
• Building trust
• Listening to different viewpoints with an open mind before giving opinion
• Delegating more effectively
• Standing up to individuals who undermine teamwork
• Dealing with performance problems in a timely manner

So, should a leader try and coach themselves?  This is a great question and one I have pondered for years.  I believe a leader can begin the process of coaching themselves, and if they get stuck, hire a coach to get them moving again.  So, how do you coach yourself?   Here are a few steps to get you started:

• At your next one-on-one meeting or phone call with your direct reports ask them two simple questions; What is one thing I do that helps the team and one thing I do that hurts the team.  This is the part where you must be sincere in asking and quiet yourself to listen and take notes.  This will also test your direct reports ability to trust you enough to tell you what you need to hear.  Gather all the ideas of what helps and hurts and create an email thanking everyone for their feedback and what you have learned.
• Choose one or two behaviors you will begin working on that hurts the team based on how many times they were mentioned in your one-on-one meetings.  
•  Create a group of people you will meet with individually and regularly for five minutes each month and ask them for ways to improve these two behaviors
• Start taking their suggestions to heart and act on them
• Keep meeting with your key individuals for five minutes over twelve months and put together an online survey that someone you trust will send out and receive feedback to give you anonymous results
• Continue this process until your anonymous electronic surveys show great improvement in the one or two behaviors you chose to improve

If along the way, you are unable to implement the suggestions your key individuals give you or they are not able to give you honest feedback, then an outside coach may be the answer. 

Do you know there are behaviors that are holding you back as a leader?  Are you willing to try self-coaching before you may hire an external coach?  Are you nervous to get feedback and know it is the only way you will grow? Are you unsure of how to get started?

 
Take a deep breath and dive into a world that many leaders are already occupying....a world of feedback.  Start by following the steps listed above knowing you can always hire a coach along the way if you get stuck.  Also know that you can include your spouse and friends in this process as key individuals to give you feedback.  The only rule for choosing key individuals is that they  must be able to give you feedback that will help you grow.  Remember it is always better to initiate this type of change process yourself versus having your boss deciding for you.  In the end you will find yourself more open to watching and observing great leaders knowing you are on your way to becoming one yourself.

"What happens when people open their hearts?"
                         " They get better."

Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood